4 Tips for Selling Your First Home

When you sell your first house, there are a lot of unexpected things that can happen and it can be a little nerve-wracking. These tips will make the process go much smoother for you.

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Today, I've got four key tips that will be a big help to you if you're selling a house for the first time. It can be a nervous time and you probably don't know what to expect, so we want to do our best to help you make the best decisions for you and your family. These are the most important things to keep in mind: 1. Price your home accurately: Overpricing your house is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. Whether you're selling an iPad, a jug of milk, or your house, it's not going to sell if you overprice it. I even see people who overprice their house end up selling for far less than they could have had they just priced it correctly from the beginning.

2. Ask your real estate agent for advice on preparing your house for sale: In 10 years in real estate, there have been only a few houses that I've walked into and thought they were ready for the market. Some homes need more prep work than others. It's important to lean on your agent's expertise so that your home shows in tip-top shape.

Overpricing your house is one of the biggest mistakes you can make.

3. Be flexible with showings when the house goes on the market: We find that if you miss the opportunity to get an interested buyer into your house for a showing, you might not ever be able to get them scheduled back. You need to know what you're getting into with selling a house because it will require some flexibility to get buyers in it.

4. Insist on professional photography: Your agent should bring in a pro whose job it is to take pictures of homes and show them in their best light. An agent using a little digital camera or an iPhone is not the gold standard of service you should expect. High-quality photos make a big difference in your home's sale. If you're thinking about selling your first house or have any other questions about the Temple market, don't hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I’m always happy to help!

4 Questions to Help You Decide If You Should Buy a House

Should you buy a house or not? There are four questions that can help you make this decision.

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Should you buy a house or not? There are four questions that will help you figure out whether buying or renting is better for you: 1. Can you afford it? How much money do you make and what debt obligations do you have? Can you reasonably afford to purchase a home? If you’re not sure, then the affordability calculator on Realtor.com is a great place to start. 2. Is it better to rent a home or buy a home? The answer to this question really depends on your market. If you live in an area that has a very hot seller’s market and home values are appreciating quickly, then it might be more difficult to purchase a house. In that case, renting might be better for you. In other markets with decent inventory, you may be able to find the house that will work best for you.

How long will you live there?

3. How long can you stay put? It really takes about three to five years for homeowners to break even or make a little bit of money. When you purchase a house, you will pay thousands of dollars in closing costs. In about three to five years, the home will likely appreciate enough to cover those expenses. If you aren’t going to be in a certain area for at least three years, then it might not be a good idea to purchase a home. 4. Are you ready for this responsibility? Purchasing a house requires a lot of upkeep and maintenance. Some people might not be ready for that responsibility. You may prefer being able to call the landlord to fix any issues that arise. So, before you make that leap into homeownership, make sure that you are ready for the responsibility that comes with it. Hopefully, these four questions will help you figure out whether or not now is the time for you to purchase a home. If you have any other questions about the home buying process or about our current market, give me a call. I would be happy to help you!

5 Mistakes to Avoid When Taking Real Estate Photos

Home photos are extremely important to the selling process, but these five mistakes can kill your home sale.

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search
Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Value Report

My team and I look at real estate photos every single day, so we see all kinds of mistakes. However, there are five mistakes that can kill the sale of your home. They are: 1. Taking pictures of the corners of rooms. I don’t know why so many online listings include pictures of corners. You need to take wide-angled photos of each room so that potential buyers can get a real feeling for the interior of your home. Display the entire room, not just the corner. 2. Zooming in on the front of the house. Pictures of the front of the house are incredibly important. However, make sure they aren’t zoomed in so much that buyers miss out on the surrounding flowerbeds or porch. Take a few steps back to capture all of the distinguishing effects of the property. 3. Not taking pictures of the inside of the house. Would you buy a house without seeing what it looked like on the inside? No! Make sure you take interior photos of the house. If you don’t, people will wonder what’s wrong with the home, and you won’t get any showings.

Don’t take pictures that make your house look haunted.

4. Taking dark and grainy pictures. Grainy, dark photos can make your house look haunted, and haunted houses generally don’t do well on the market. Adjust the settings on the camera so you don’t create any ghosts in your photo. Also, if your real estate agent wants to use their cellphone to take photos, tell them that is not a good idea. 5. Not letting the sun in. We’ve seen photos of houses so dark that you can’t tell what you’re looking at. Natural light has proven to help houses sell faster and for more money. Dark pictures are very unattractive. Avoid these mistakes to make your online listing appeal to more buyers. The better your photos are, the more showings you will get; the more showings you get, the better offers you will have. If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I would be happy to help you!